Sony has unveiled a re-designed PlayStation Portable which is slimmer, lighter, and comes with a video-out port for watching content on TVs. From a distance the PSP is virtually unchanged but once you get a grip on the new PSP you realise the portable console is now 19% slimer and 33% lighter.

Sony has shipped more than 25m PSPs since its launch in 2004. No release date or price was given for the new PSP. It lags behind sales of the Nintendo DS, which has shipped more than 40m units worldwide.

At the E3 press conference in California, Sony also said it was working with Epic Games to optimise its Unreal graphics engine for use on the PlayStation 3. Unreal Tournament 3, which uses the engine, will be available exclusively on PS3 in the Autumn. Seven developers, working on 20 more games, will use the optimised engine.

Sony also said it had secured exclusivity for much-hyped shooter Haze, at least for the "holiday season".

The firm also ended speculation that Metal Gear Solid 4, from veteran developer Hideo Kojima, would appear on the Xbox 360 as well as the PS3. Sony said the game was "set for a simultaneous worldwide launch in early 2008 exclusively on PS3".

The press conference was also used to demo upcoming games, such as Killzone 2, and the latest iteration of the online portal, PlayStation Home.

Tags : E3 2007 : PlayStation 3 : playstation portable : redesign

Comments

By: Dragonfly On: 03:18 Jul 11th, 2007 Online	You know what has me gimped the most? The redesigned slim-line PSP looks completely identical to the original! Not that the machine was all that bad looking to begin with, but it seems like a lazy effort. Still, the thought of actually being able to hook your PSP to your TV and play games from it is actually an enticing one... Loco Roco on a widescreen TV? Yes please!

By: ApplesauceNinja On: 06:43 Jul 11th, 2007 Offline	And just a few weeks after I finally get a psp, too. Figures.

By: Black Convoy On: 09:29 Jul 11th, 2007 Offline	They had me at AV input.

By: Mobius Zero On: 09:39 Jul 11th, 2007 Offline	I think I would've liked an extra Analog nub on the right side and maybe having the nubs slightly bigger would be nice. I thought the size of the PSP was just right and a bit more comfortable than a DS (On some games, it's a real pain to use at least for me). So let's make it smaller and maybe faster than the original, is it just me or is this deja vu to me? I think Sony to me had an impressive showing to say the least even if it got alittle corny at times, I though it was abit more exciting than the other two and an overall good way of getting back on track for Sony, let's just hope as gamers they stay that way.